Iowa couple pleads guilty to neglecting severely malnourished baby with cocaine in system

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (WHO) -- An Iowa couple is admitting to neglecting their baby who tested positive for cocaine.

Twenty-one-year-old Zak Herman and 20-year-old Stazia Kirk have pleaded guilty to neglect or abandonment of a dependent person.

They were arrested in February after DHS and hospital staff reported the 3-month-old girl was severely malnourished. The baby was so dehydrated she could not produce tears and she needed a feeding tube.

In exchange for the guilty plea, the state has agreed to drop a charge of child endangerment causing bodily injury.